Dire Warnings July: Grant Morrison's Doom Patrol and The Angry Scholar

It's time for Comic Books!  It's time for a Flashback!  It's Time!

Our story begins with a violent, bloody car accident.  Actually, it begins long before that, but that is where we jump into the flow.  It is February 1989 and Cliff Steele, Robotman, is dreaming of his last day in a human body.  Flames and force rip his body to shreds and only his brain survives.  In the aptly titled "Crawling from the Wreckage," it is the first issue of Grant Morrison's run on DC Comics' The Doom Patrol.  Welcome to Weird.

Grant Morrison's writing on the Doom Patrol is not solidly within the Horror genre.  There is a good bit of whimsy mixed in and heavy doses of general strangeness.  However, at the bottom of all this chaos is a repeating mantra that makes these stories especially unsettling and horrifying: You are not safe at any time.  Your body isn't safe, it will change against your will.  Your mind isn't safe, insanity waits around every corner.  The World is not safe, the Universe around you will come unglued at any moment and reveal the vast gaping nothing underneath everything.

This is a book about cataclysmic apocalypse and in every sense of the word, Doom.

Dire Warnings May: Cryo Chamber and From Zombo's Closet

From somewhere within the vast darkness comes a sound.  It echoes and hums.  It reverberates and drones.  It skitters.  It haunts.  Occulted by layers of emptiness, the dread sound coalesces into vague unsettling imagery.  Out of the silence and stillness emerge stories of the night, tales of the abyss.  Join me in this month's Dire Warnings as I further explore the realm of sound with the dark ambient music of the record label, Cryo Chamber.

I came across Cryo Chamber shortly after I listened to Atrium Carceri for the first time.  I was immediately drawn in by the haunting environments and echoing landscapes.  Atrium's music quickly became the soundtrack to my horror art.  I would put the playlist on repeat and let the fear pass through me and into the imagery I was creating.  Like any dark addiction, soon I needed more.  I discovered then that Simon Heath, the man behind Atrium Carceri had founded the music label, Cryo Chamber.  It was a gift of vast darkness.

As well as Atrium Carceri, Cryo Chamber hosts other amazing dark acts such as Sabled Sun, Halgrath, Sjellos, Aseptic Void, Dark Matter, Ugasanie.  These are only a few.  Drop by Cryo Chamber's Bandcamp page for a quick listen to their selections and visit their facebook page for further news and updates.  If you enjoy lingering ambient darkness, check out Cryo Chamber.  The abyss awaits.

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Also in this month's Dire Warnings, I would like to begin recommending member blogs that are noteworthy.  There are so many HBA members in the big list that it is hard to keep up with everyone.  Each month, I'll try to point out an interesting member blog.  This month's recommendation is John Michael Cozzoli's: From Zombos' Closet.

If you enjoy classic Horror and Sci-Fi, with its plethora of paraphernalia from old movie posters to toys and comics, From Zombos' Closet is the place to go.  I found From Zombos' Closet easy to navigate and filled with a variety of interesting links and imagery.  Don't take my word for it though, click the banner below and check out the goods!  Be sure to check out this month's new members, and if you haven't dropped by the HBA facebook page yet, come by and give the HBA a like.

Good Night, HBA.  Remember to keep your ears to the ground.  The earworms can climb in more easily that way.  You've been warned.

- JWC

Dire Warnings April: Welcome to Night Vale

In this month's Dire Warnings we step over into the aural realm of podcasts.  I was never very interested in podcasts until a friend recommended this particular show to me.  Some of you may know about this podcast already.  If so, I beg your indulgence as I share the terrifying wonder that is Welcome to Night Vale. 

Sometimes horrifying, sometimes funny, sometimes creepy, sometimes just plain strange, Welcome to Night Vale chronicles the transmissions from a community radio station in the strange desert town of Night Vale.  The voice of Night Vale is that of the show's radio host, Cecil Palmer.  Cecil's deep resonate voice echoes the eerie essence of the many strange events that happen in Night Vale.

To avoid spoilers, I will not share any information about the plots within the show, but instead recommend that you at least listen to the first few episodes.  Welcome to Night Vale truly speaks for itself.  It whispers in your ear when you are lying fearfully in your bed.  It moans unintelligibly behind the closed door to your basement.  It breathes gently on your neck when you think you are alone in the dark.  It's okay.  It's just your imagination.  It's safe.  You are alone...sure you are.  Also, the podcast is an extremely contagious memetic virus.  If you are reading this, then you have already been infected.  There is nothing left to lose.  So go ahead, give it a listen.  Go ahead, listen.  Listen. 

You can subscribe to this podcast via iTunes or Stitcher or Libsyn or any podcast app or Soundcloud.  They have also recently made the podcasts available on Youtube.  Although some might recommend that you listen in the broad light of day, Welcome to Night Vale really should be heard in the dark.

Good Night HBA, I will see you in time.  You've been warned.

- JWC

Dire Warnings: The Void

Jesse Campbell here from Zombie Bites.  Jeremy has invited me to the HBA to do some posting.  I promise to try my best to be entertaining and bring you some fresh horror as often as possible.  If I can't bring you something fresh, I'll at least post something weird and off putting.  With Dire Warnings, I'll be covering the gamut of horror from movies and fiction to comics and games or whatever horrible thing happens across my path.  I'll also be turning my focus to the HBA itself with a spotlight on different member blogs.  Right now I'm aiming for a monthly frequency, but if I come across something that simply cannot wait, I may post more often than that.

"There is a Hell.  This is worse."  The thing that is on fire for me right now is an upcoming horror movie: The Void.  The creators of Manborg, Father's Day, and the "W is for Wish" segment of ABC's of Death 2 are working together again to bring us this agressively unsettling piece.  If you don't know anything about The Void, drop by the indiegogo page and take a gander.  The creators are running a campaign to fund the creature effects for the movie.  Here is a creepy poster image for the film to whet your appetite, but be sure to check out the disturbing campaign trailer.

That's all for now.  I'll see you in thirty, but until then, you've been warned.

-JWC